Bizarre conspiracy theories surrounding a mysterious Montauk airbase were the inspiration for Stranger Things, it has been revealed.

Mind control, evil government experiments and a child with incredible powers may have become common science fiction tropes but at the writers and creators were inspired by rumors of creepy experiments at Camp Hero in Long Island.

‘It’s based on a place in Montauk, New York called Camp Hero,’ star Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, told Wired during a recent Google search reveal interview.

‘There was, like, rumors of secret government spies doing human experiments to fight in the Cold War. It’s based on that one government lab… It’s a place you can go visit but you’re not allowed in why? Nobody knows.’

Known as Camp Hero, or the Montauk Air Force Station, the air base was commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1942 as coastal defense station to defend New York from a potential invasion by sea – disguised as a typical New England fishing village to protect it from attack.

The base was later used as a surveillance center in the Cold War and a base for the huge AN/FPS-35 Radar. The Montauk installation was eventually shut down on January 31, 1981, and the radar was abandoned in place.